The Great War: Plunge
Plunge The Plunge Stage saw the armies of western Eirethune on the move, driving across the world to engage where they could. Even in the besieged areas in the far north and far south, sorties were made to badger assaulting forces, keeping the Ûr from gaining any real ground anywhere in Eirethune. The Northern Sieges Continue In the north, the Ûr refocused on assaulting Kharin and Kazden Dûn, but this time, they called upon the Night and Ice Giants to help the assault. The violence was extreme and the pressure on Kazden Dûn to fall was without end; when the Night Giants arrived, the sun did not appear to the Dwarves defending the keeps for months. Yet the dwarves survived. The walls shook and were broken apart, yet the dwarves were able to keep the onslaught of the nightmare of terror from breaking their resolve. Time and time, the Ûr surged in, and time and time again, the dwarves of the keeps were able to hold on. Kazden Dûn looked quite grim at times, as the night and darkness and terror permeated every parapet, wall, alley and building in the complex. Fortunately, however, there were many inside those walls capable of great heroism and strength to surmount any of the attacks that were thrown at the complex. When one surge from the Ûr appeared to be unstoppable, the great dwarven warrior, Bainar Thornhand pushed back, bringing light and lightning down on the Ûr all around him. He pushed an assault back almost singlehandedly, spearheading a surge that forced much of the Ûr running down the mountains before Bainar himself fell in battle.1 Yet this type of heroism kept Kazden from falling throughout the assaults. In Kharin Dûn, the dwarves were even more fortunate. They did not have the giant onslaught to fear as well, so they were able to withstand the assaults better than their northwestern cousins. Still, there were tremendous acts of bravery and power that sent the Ûr clans scattering away from the giant fortresses and into the valleys below. Once again, the Ûr attempt to take the citadels, and once again, the dwarves would be victorious. A Final Clash in Surrin The Ûr had been savaging Teldor and Aden Shahn for a while, but after the withdraw after the Battle of Surrin’s Damned, they needed to regroup as soon as possible. The western forces were regrouping and soon they would be reinforced by forces even further west, from Angleside, Bavarin and the Southland. It was determined that the forces stationed at Detmanth would divide up, with half of the army force marching into Surrin, and the other half suppressing the Osebb and Udbotsi troops to the south. The Ûr dashed into the Smothe and Surrin and raced towards the regrouping troops, forming in the Reden Fields, west of Redenkorz. Soon they would attempt to crush the broken western forces, but it was not to happen. After the Battle of Coten Heights, the Angleside, West Isles, Southland and Bavarin forces streamed across the Mote. None of the clans present in the Mote would dare attack the massive army streaking across the Chwaer Plains, and soon that army would be out of their lands, arriving to help King Joachim and Magnate Megrakk in western Azmunth and Surrin. In addition, prior to the Battle of Coten Heights, a separate forces was being mustered in the Southland and Bavarin, and they, too, rushed through Lebben, Sadav, Katorba and the Smothe, moving and gathering strength to assist in the defense of Surrin. The Ûr forces moved to attack King Joachim in Azmunth, but he set forth a screen and moved the bulk of his force south and west into Surrin. For days, he attempted to keep the Ûr forces from reaching the main force, sacrificing small screening forces as the withdrew, but it would be enough. When the Ûr finally was able to reach and engage King Joachim and Magnate Megrakk’s army, both of the western armies that were racing to reinforce the defenders would be able to do so. The battle was hard fought, and many were lost on both sides, but Surrin was saved. The Ûr forces that remained attempted to retreat back to Detmanth, but they would never reach it. The west was envigored, hunting down the Ûr before they could regroup was imperative for the safety of the land. No more would the Ûr travel freely in Surrin. The South Buttons Up In the south, the other half of the Ûr army from Detmanth headed south, set on destroying what remained in Udbotsi and Osebb. They had expected some combined resistance from the areas, but instead both regions hardened up their defenses. In Udbotsi, both Eastlom and the Green Cities were watching the Ûr armies’ direction to see how best to defend the lands. When the Ûr continued driving south through the Amed Plain towards the Green Cities, the fleets of Udbotsi moved to transport as many people from Eastlom and Tatan to the Green Cities to assist in a defense. The Ûr did pass by Eastlom because they thought it would be the most defended, so instead it was their intent to attack both Osebb and the Green Cities, as there were fewer defenders in those regions; and to do so, the Ûr divided their own forces, sending half to each of those regions. The Ûr assaulted Galazoar and Benthous, but neither would fall. The Ûr were not broken, but they also could not break through the hardened and well-defended lines of the two cities. More assaults would occur, but none would be successful. Finally, when word came that the forces in Surrin were retreating towards Detmanth, the Ûr forces retreated from the south one more time. Thearth's Children Although Devnah and Thearth had been savaged for most of the entire Great War, there were Balmorien forces who had been fighting as partisans against the Ûr, but soon they would be able to regroup to try and regain their homeland. Some of the Ûr that had been sent into Calandiren survived the Battle of the Dark Wood, but mostly without much of any leadership. They scattered and routed back towards Balmorien, some to be picked off by partisans, others to survive to regroup in Thearth. It was there, in Thearth, they would be joined by another Ûr force, mustered from as many of the remaining clans in the steppes, meeting just east of Gast Entun. Meanwhile, the armies of the west had been on the move, trailing right along close behind the stragglers from the Dark Wood. Word of the moves of the western army had reached all areas in Balmorien, not just Devnah and Roane, and it brought out all who were hiding and waiting for an opportunity in Balmorien. When the Calandiren and Frostmark warriors entered the Bardd Plain, groups began moving throughout Balmorien. Groups from as far as Dag surged forward to answer the call and make their way across the plains towards Gast Entun. As the Calandiren / Frostmark passed Gast Entun, the Ûr forces attacked. The drove into the center of the western army, but soon they would be surrounded as troops appeared from every direction to assist in the repulsion of the Ûr. Here, more than anywhere before, the valor and commitment of the Balmorien partisans was displayed and admired. Whether they used sword or staff, bow or flame, the partisans attacked savagely and heroically, saving westerners where they could, defeating the Ûr whenever they faced them. One great hero, Arkoor Kalax, was seen jumping from one Ûr to the next, cutting each down before they could react, and then pulling wounded from the fray before jumping in again.2 After the battle when all was calm in the Thearth Plain, he was asked how he found the strength and endurance to fight with such vigor. His response was simple, “There will be no future children of Thearth if I fail.” The Dead of Dag In the far east, Thangku’Ur was being reinforced by eastern Ûr clans moving off of the steppes. Yet at the same time, there were forces from as far west as Dreton coming to help the hybrid army of Roane, Dag, Vendratti and Kastgor. It was time for the House of Thangku’Ur to return to the control of the west. The Ûr felt no threat when they saw the army of Kastgor approach; in fact, the Ûr sortied and set up a position near an ancient burial mound. Here, the necro-mage, Zadec Khokhar, began a ritual, and soon the earth shimmered with the movement of countless spirits rising from the mound. The western forces were nonetheless ready for the Ûr, however. The armies of the western nations surged forward towards the Ûr and undead forces and engaged. At the same time, the great shaman of Kastgor, Hakak Thool, performed his own ritual 3. Now, instead of Zadec controlling the undead, the undead would be guided by their own memories. As the burial mound was primarily filled with ancient undead dwarves and servants to either Dag Dwarven Deep or Kharin Dûn, a large number spirits turned on Zadec and moved with the army of Dag. The Ûr had been larger in number, but with the dead against them, the tide turned in the battle. As the fight turned more and more into a lost cause, the Ûr screened as much as they could, allowing a small portion of their remaining army back into Thangku’Ur. Now the armies of the west surrounded Thangku’Ur and contemplated assault, yet it was determined that there was no need. When scouts and eyes were sent into the complex, they could not find the army that had retreated into it, at least not in the main levels. The search was deepened as far as it could go without risking life, but nothing was found. It appeared that the Ûr had left. Links Chronology of Eirethune Previous, The Great War: Dark Blood Next, The Great War: Return Notes 1 The Hammer of Bainar Thornhand can still be found in Kazden Dûn, where it is revered yet still taken out by the Guard General of the Main Gate every night. The hammer shimmers and hums, but no Guard General has ever refused to carry it. 2 Arkoor Kalax was a skilled rogue warrior, but he also wore boots and gauntlets which accentuated his strength and dexterity formidably. It was said while wearing the two, he could also move faster than an eagle in a dive, making him even harder to kill. Of course, Arkoor did fall in combat, but fortunately after the Great War. Arkoor was trying to track down a Night Giant in the Halen Mountains who had attacked a caravan with which he was traveling. A search party had found the fallen Night Giant, but alas, nothing was found of Arkoor. 3 The ritual performed by Zadec Khokhar was one of relatively common study for necromancers of a certain level. Yet the ritual performed by Hakak Thool was and still is something that can only be found in Kastgor and Vendratti, and only among the most adept shamen. Most of the time the ritual is taught by word of mouth between shamen, as is the custom in Kastgor, but it is said there is a written transcription somewhere in Nandig as well.